


no i don't regret it

by oceansideeyes



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Canonical Character Death, Double Date, F/F, Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Internalized Homophobia, Period-Typical Homophobia, badass joyce (isn't she always), sorry - Freeform, this was supposed to be shorter than it is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-22
Updated: 2019-07-22
Packaged: 2020-07-10 10:44:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,623
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19904455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oceansideeyes/pseuds/oceansideeyes
Summary: With the Mind Flayer gone, the flayed all destroyed, and Billy dead, life could return to normal, right? No more running, no more hiding, none of it.Or so they thought. So much more emerges when the group is not fighting for their lives from dangerous (and disgusting) monsters.





	no i don't regret it

**Author's Note:**

> title: worth it (perfect) by superfruit (i recommend them so much!!!)
> 
> after finishing s3, i fell in love with elmax/maxel or whatever you call it and so you get a fic! it was supposed to be 2.5k words and a warmup to write other fics but i just got carried away and it's being posted as its own fic! so i hope you enjoy it!

Starcourt Mall was devastated after the Mind Flayer and the flayed attacked, shards of glass lying precariously on the tiled floor. Everyone was breathing heavily, adrenaline still coursing through their veins. Eleven's first instinct was to run to Max, who was crying over her brother's body. Billy wasn't exactly a nice guy, but Max didn't deserve this. El slid onto the floor beside Max, wrapping her arms around the redhead. Max didn't react, she barely even noticed that El had come over. The tears kept rolling down her face as she replayed what happened with the Mind Flayer. Billy's face when he died... Max wished that he hadn't gone out the way he did. What would she tell her parents? Would they care? None of it mattered in the end, Max realized. She tried to take deep breaths when she realized that everyone was around her, Eleven being the closest. "Hey," El whispered, running her hand through Max's hair, attempting to calm her down. "We're here for you, Max. I'm here for you." Max leaned backward into El's lap, her head resting on the latter's legs. Max's breathing slowly became irregular, but El was so happy that she was alive that she didn't notice.

"Thanks," Max replied softly. Her hand reached for El's, for the comfort of something familiar. El shifted to get up when Max's hand squeezed her own tightly. "Please don't go."

"Max, I need to check on everyone else." Max didn't let go, but El pulled her hand away. "I'll be right back, okay?" Max reluctantly nodded as El walked away. Max glanced down at her right side, watching as blood seeped into her shirt. Frantically, she tried to stop the bleeding with her hand, but obviously, that was a stupid idea. The blood poured out, weakening Max by the second. After El knew that everyone else was okay, she returned to Max, only to find the vast amount of blood she lost. "Max!" She shouted, half angry, half terrified. "You're losing so much blood! Why didn't you tell me!?" El searched for the closest thing she could find to soak up the blood. She grabbed a towel from a store nearby and pressed it to Max's side.

"You had to... check on everyone else..." Max answered hoarsely, a pained expression sweeping across her face. She coughed violently, trying to play it off as if it was nothing. The truth is, it wasn't nothing. As everyone else started to brush off the dust, El waved them all over as police entered the mall. When they saw Max, all of their faces dropped. Steve, as the mom he is, immediately went to the nearest police officer and told them that they needed an ambulance or a paramedic as soon as possible. Seconds later, the officer paged for a paramedic and another ambulance to arrive on the scene. El watched a few people coming running in, pushing what looked like a bed towards them. They gently lifted Max onto it, her eyes closed, and her side still bleeding. Eleven was torn between staying with her friends and going with another. She knew Max would be alone, and she knew what it felt like to be alone.

From behind her, Mike tapped her shoulder, startling her. "Don't hurt me!" He put his hands up in surrender. "It's just me." El relaxed, staring off at where Max had been taken. "If you want to go with her, you better start running."

"You... are telling me to go? What about everyone else?" She turned to Mike, staring at him like he's crazy.

"The police are here, and we're all heading home. Go with Max, El. You'll regret it if you don't." El and Mike connected, and El knew this is what she needed to do. She turned and bolted towards the ambulance that held Max.

Max faded in and out of consciousness, but when Eleven arrived, she was generally more awake than not. The paramedic spotted El and shook his head. "No, no, no, you can't come with us. You're not family, are you?"

El stopped and glared at the paramedic. "My friend here is _dying,_ and yet you're still here asking me stupid questions?" The paramedic opened his mouth to speak but stopped before saying anything.

"Touche," he turned to the driver, "step on it." The driver nodded and pressed the pedal, enabling the sirens and lights. They sped down the road, heading to the hospital as fast as they could. "Hey, you," he said, pointing at El. "Talk to her, keep her awake." El nodded, reaching out and holding Max's hand.

"Hey, Max," she whispered, tears accumulating in her eyes.

"Hey," she replied quietly. "When did you get here?"

"It wasn't that long ago, don't worry, you didn't miss much." They both laughed, falling into a comfortable silence. "How do you feel?"

"Fine, honestly." Max paused, closing her eyes for a second. "I've come to terms with the idea of dying a hero, and telling the person I love how I feel about them, even if they don't realize it." She winced slightly, squeezing El's hand.

"What do you mean?" El asked, leaning over Max to hear her.

"Before we started fighting, I told you you didn't have to do this, but you didn't listen to me and said that you had to do it," Max scoffed, not at El but herself. "My selfish reason for not wanting you to do this was because I love you and don't want to lose you. You're so much more than someone with supernatural abilities, and you're so much more than a friend to me. You said 'I love you' back to me, but I don't know how you meant it." A brief pause fell, the rest of the world miles away. "The stupid thing is that I hoped you felt the same, but the way you look at Mike..." El cut her off by pressing a kiss to her lips.

"I meant it the same way you do, Max," she smiled, tracing circles on Max's forearm. The rest of the ride was filled with quiet comments and comfortable silences.

****************

Meanwhile, back at the mall, Murray and Joyce had just managed to escape the secret Russian base underneath the mall. Joyce's first instinct led her to run to Will, having witnessed the Mind Flayer's second coming. "Will! Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Joyce asked hurriedly, searching Will for injuries. Will tried to answer, but Joyce kept cutting him off with questions.

"Mom!" Will said, raising his voice a little. "I'm fine," his voice lowered again, "but some of us weren't so lucky."

"What do you mean?" Joyce scanned the people, unable to find Eleven. "Where's El?"

"She went to the hospital with Max. Max got injured, and it looked severe." Joyce let go of Will, her eyes more watery than usual. "What's going on, Mom?"

"I need to talk to El, that's what's going on. You stay here with the police and your friends, okay? I'm going to the hospital to catch them." Will nodded as Joyce turned to Murray, telling him to stay with the kids or else she'd gut him and dice him up. Murray understood and stayed with the kids.

Joyce rushed to the hospital, not caring that she was speeding. She swung the doors open when she arrived, beelining for the receptionist. "Max Mayfield, what room is she in?" The receptionist gave Joyce the number and sent her off. Joyce ran down the hallway and pushed open the door, finding Eleven sitting beside the bed, staring at an unconscious Max. "How's she doing?" Joyce crossed the room, resting her hand on El's shoulder.

"They're not sure," El mumbled, sniffling. Her eyes were red and puffy. "The doctors are getting an operating room ready." The longer the silence persisted, the closer to tears Eleven came. "She's going into surgery soon."

"Oh, honey..." Joyce rubbed El's back, trying to comfort her. The doctors came in at that moment and took Max's bed towards the OR. "The doctors here are the best around, they'll save her."

"This is all my fault." Tears slipped down El's cheeks, all hope fleeting her body. "None of this would've happened if I hadn't lured the Mind Flayer to us. It was looking for me, and I was with her..."

"El, honey, it's not your fault. Max knew the risks of staying with you, and she did it anyway. I don't know her that well, but I know that she's stubborn as all hell. She's going to make it, I promise you." As Joyce finished speaking, Max's bed was wheeled back into the room, her eyes still closed. The doctor pulled Joyce aside and talked to her while El stayed sitting in the same chair she had been since they arrived. She struggled to keep her eyes open, falling asleep as soon as she knew that Max was safe.

Outside the room, everyone else came running. Steve led the way, with Robin hot on his tail. Dustin, Erica, and Lucas were in a clump behind them with Will and Mike near the end. Murray was ushering Nancy and Jonathan to the room, knowing that they would be trying to run off by themselves. Joyce stood in the doorway when they all stopped outside the door. "Hey, Joyce," Murray said when he got to the front of the blob. "How is it in there?"

"Max and El are both asleep. You guys can come in for a second though. I'm trying to let them both sleep." The motley crew squeezed their way into the room, waking Max up. Joyce gently maneuvered her way to Max's side. "Hey, Max," she whispered. "How do you feel?"

"Sore as hell," Max answered as she tried to shift a little. "I've been better, I've been worse." Her pained expression clearly stated otherwise, and her minimizing of the pain was a result of the past she had. No one said anything though, because it was Max who was dealing with the pain, not the rest of them. Everyone else talked to her for a little bit, but Max grew tired rather quickly, so Joyce ushered them all out. When she came back, Max was reaching for El but didn't want to lean over to wake her up. Joyce shook El a little, who woke up immediately. As soon as El saw that Max was awake, her face lit up. She practically jumped on Max. "Woah, calm down, El."

"You're awake!" El, carefully this time, laid down next to Max. "I was afraid you weren't going to make it!"

"I'm not giving up just yet, good attempt though," Max joked. El didn't understand the joke, so she was concerned, but Joyce told her that it was a joke and she shouldn't be worried. El nodded warily, not entirely believing either of them. Max fell asleep again, more comfortable since El was with her. El softly cried into Max's shoulder, relieved that she was safe and alive. The feelings surrounding that confused El, but she didn't mind. As long as Max was safe, that's what mattered.

Joyce let the girls sleep, stepping into the corridor to talk to her children. She started to speak when someone she didn't know heads towards the room. She stepped in front of him, blocking his way in. "Who are you?" Joyce asked threateningly.

"I'm Max's stepfather, Neil Hargrove," he snipped back. "Will you stop blocking the door? I'm here to see Max."

"And I'm here for the damn food," she retorted. "I don't know if you're _actually_ her stepfather, but even if you are, she's asleep. You aren't going in there yet."

"You have no right to keep me out of her room! Who even are you anyway?"

"Joyce. Byers." She stared him down, waiting for him to step down. "If you don't mind, take a fucking seat, sir." Neil sat down, fuming. Clearly, he didn't want to, but he knew that this little woman would kick his ass if he tried to fight. When Joyce was talking to her kids, Neil went behind her back and slipped into the room, shutting it quietly behind him. When he turned back to the bed, he scoffed.

"Little Maxine in bed with some other girl, huh?" He smirked to himself. "She's never going to live this down." Max's eyes shot open, glaring at Neil. "Oh look, you're awake. Good to see you're sleeping around."

"El is my best friend," Max defended. "What are you doing here? Where is my mom?"

"Your mother, well, she couldn't make it with me. You see, she's dead." Max's heart dropped through the floor when he said that. "You see, I was expecting Billy to come home, but he never showed. I got upset, and rightfully so, and it just sort of happened."

"You _murdered_ my mother because Billy didn't come home? She was the only family I had!" Max wanted to sock Neil's ugly face, but she couldn't move.

"But what about Billy and me?" His face contorted into something that resembled a smile, but it was cold, emotionless.

"BILLY'S DEAD!" Max screamed, breathing heavily. "You never thought about that, did you?"

"He's... dead? You're lying!" Neil stormed up to Max, grabbing her by the collar. "Why are you covering for him?"

"I'm not!" She exclaimed, wriggling as she tried to escape his grip. "Why would I cover for an arrogant asshole like him! And why would I tell another one where he is if I was! I watched him die, Neil!" Flashes of Billy's dead body whirred around Max's head. She restrained the tears that nearly fell on her cheeks. It was at that moment that Eleven woke up, seeing Max and some man in an argument. She threw Neil against the wall, helping Max back into bed. Neil tried to punch El, but she lifted him and dropped him on the floor. Joyce, who was finally done talking to her kids, heard the loud thud of Neil hitting the floor and hurried into the room.

"What the hell!?" Joyce shouted. "I told you not to come in here!" She used the bed to call for a nurse, who then called security on him. He was dragged out by security, and the tension in the room diffused slowly. "Are you two okay?" Both girls nodded, their eyes wide and adrenaline coursing through their veins. "Does your side hurt?" Max shook her head but immediately winced. "I take that as a yes. Nurse!" The nurse from before came back in, rewrapped Max's side, and gave Max some painkillers, leaving as quickly as she had come.

"Max," El whispered as she sat down on the bed. "I'm here. I'm not leaving you."

Max chuckled, smiling softly. "Go get something to eat. Joyce is here, and everyone else is outside. Send someone else in if you want to, that's okay. You should head out."

"But..."

"No buts. Just go!" El hesitated but followed Max's instructions. She headed to the vending machine with the dollar Joyce gave her. Mike came up to her a few seconds later, watching El struggle to get the computer to accept the dollar.

"Let me help you with that," he said, flattening the corners of the bill so that the vending machine would accept it, and it worked! "Hey, we haven't talked since you left in the ambulance with Max, but if you have time, I think we should talk now?"

"But Max..." El trailed off, glancing back at the room.

"She'll be okay, I promise." El grabbed a Coke from the machine and sat down beside Mike. "So, I have to ask: what are we?"

"Us?" El repeated, taking a sip of her soda. "I dump your ass."

"Yeah, but do you still like me?" Mike wasn't sure what he was going to get in response, but he hoped for the best.

"I don't know." That was not the response he was looking for. "I did like you. But now..." As always, Eleven couldn't help but be drawn to Max. She was everything El wanted to be, and it was alluring. The thought of being with someone who strengthens your weaknesses is all that anyone could ask for. That's what Max did for El.

"Do you..." Mike faltered, not wanting to ask an offensive question. He lowered his voice before asking, "Do you _like_ Max? Do you feel the same with her that you did with me?"

"I don't know!" She said, louder than she wanted to. "I mean, I think so." Mike's expression fell. "Not that you're not great!"

"No, no, I understand," Mike replied, staring at Will, who was nearly asleep on his brother's shoulder. "I'm in the same spot you are. I think I like someone, but I shouldn't like them."

"What do you mean 'shouldn't like them'?" El asked, and Mike sighed.

"The world doesn't like girls liking girls or boys liking boys," Mike confessed. "It's stupid, I know, but that's the way the world is. There are places that people like us can go, but it's not entirely safe there either. It's not wrong though, it's just looked down upon."

"So... I shouldn't like Max?" El became more confused with the feelings she was feeling. Mike was telling her she shouldn't like Max, but she couldn't help it. Her red hair, her defiance, her individuality, El loved it all.

"I didn't say that. The _world_ says that, but I think you should go back to Max. She's in that room waiting for you. Take your drink and get back in there!" Mike smiled, standing up. "Do you trust me?" He offered El his hand.

"Yes," she replied.

"Then go get what you want. You can do this!" El smiled and pushed open the door to Max's room as Mike sat down next to Will.

Max was watching the TV, nothing good really on it. Most of the channels were just playing the news report of what happened that night, but they lived it. Max shut if off as Eleven entered the room. "Hey, El," Max said with a smile. "Good to see you back in here with me."

"It's good to be back," El replied, unable to stop glowing (in the figurative sense, obviously). "Can I ask you a question?"

"You just did," Max jokingly replied.

El tilted her head, confused. "What?"

"I'm joking, sure you can ask me a question. What is it?"

El took a deep breath, setting her Coke can down before she asked. "If I asked you to go out somewhere with me, what would you say?"

"Like we did when we went to the mall? Of course, I would!" El shook her head, not meaning it that way.

"I mean like... a date." El closed her eyes, afraid that Max was going to reject her. Instead, Max reached out her hand and took El's in it.

"Of course I'd go on a date with you. You don't even have to ask." Max motioned for El to come closer, and Max's lips connected with Eleven's softly. "Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah, it does." The two of them giggled uncontrollably until their ribs started to hurt.

****************

A few days later, Max was released from the hospital and had nowhere to go. Her mom and brother were dead, and her stepfather was in jail. God only knows where her real father was. Joyce, being the mother that she is, decided to let Max stay with them, not realizing that it was a bad idea until after the fact. Max and El would sit alone in El's room and make out with the door closed, with Joyce never suspecting a thing.

Two weeks after that, Mike and El planned a double date at the new location for Scoops Ahoy in Hawkins where Steve and Robin continued to work. El brought Max and Mike dragged Will to the Scoops Ahoy, surprising them with the date. All four of them sat down at a table and ate ice cream together, served by Steve and Robin, talking about anything and everything. Will shifted slightly uncomfortably, not uncomfortable being with Mike, but uncomfortable being in public where people could hurt them or call them names. He hesitated to do anything affectionate because it would be more apparent if Mike and Will were being like El and Max that they're gay.

El and Max, on the other hand, were not holding back. Max was smearing ice cream on El's face, and El was pushing her cone onto Max's nose. They couldn't stop laughing, finally being able to breathe together. No more Mind Flayer, no more flayed, no more Russians, _nothing_ that could hurt them. Mike tried to get Will to open up, but he was too timid, already known as the weird kid at school because he got stuck in the Upside Down. Eventually, Mike got him to loosen up, and they all had a lot of fun. The four then decided to head out to catch a movie at the theater next door, and after that, they all decided to head home, having a long day of fun out in Hawkins.

It's funny out something so tragic can bring people together. El is always careful with Max because of the scar the Mind Flayer left on her side. Max always tells El that she's not going to hurt her if she accidentally bumps it. "I'm worried about hurting you though," El always perseveres. Max shuts her up by kissing her, and El doesn't complain. They went through a lot that Fourth of July, but what came of it was something beautiful.

**Author's Note:**

> that's the end! but don't worry, i have another elmac fic in the works. you won't be starved of elmax content as long as i'm alive! i hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
